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However, candidates Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have not taken a stand.

Lott Attacks U.N. Bureaucracy

Senator Lott, who told the Capitol Hill press conference that he had studied the treaty for years, said it would authorize U.S. participation in a "huge new bureaucracy" and that American taxpayers would end up paying 25 percent of the total cost. He noted that, under the provisions, money and resources provided to the treaty organization would be "shared with the rest of the world," a form of foreign aid.

Speaking to the U.S. Navy's support of the treaty, Lott said that Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had conceded that one of the treaty's tribunals could make adverse rulings against the U.S. military. In any event, Lott said, the treaty is "a lot bigger than the military," a reference to its provisions that cover all kinds of activities on land and sea. He said the alternative to the treaty is "a strong robust Navy" that can protect American interests on the high seas.

Senator DeMint, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the treaty was defective because while the U.S. would follow it, other nations would not.

Senator Ensign warned of further entanglements with international bodies, in light of the fact that liberal members of the Supreme Court have been citing foreign rulings and international law in their rulings. He noted that a majority of members of some arbitration panels under the treaty can be picked by the Secretary-General of the U.N.

Senator Sessions noted that the U.S. can remain a non-party to the treaty and still cooperate with other nations on maritime issues.

Senator Inhofe emphasized the danger of the International Seabed Authority developing an independent source of revenue through fees and royalties on U.S. companies seeking access to oil, gas and minerals in international waters. Inhofe said this global tax would make the U.N. even less accountable than it is now. It would make it practically impossible, he argued, for the Congress to withhold money from the U.N. in order to induce reforms or changes in the world body.

Lugar's Lies

Several of the senators noted that President Reagan had rejected the pact. In this regard, Steven Groves of the Heritage Foundation has written a special report, "Why Reagan Would Still Oppose the Law of the Sea Treaty," noting the evidence of the former president's opposition to the pact on several grounds.

Groves notes that Senator Lugar, a treaty supporter, had claimed, "It is telling that the President [Reagan] did not raise any objection to any provision of the Convention outside the deep seabed mining section. President Reagan made no demands for any other changes in the treaty."

Groves cites evidence that Lugar's statement is "demonstrably false."

Lugar has played fast-and-loose with the truth on other occasions, such as when he attacked America's Survival, Inc., for an ad opposing the treaty but refused to permit my organization to respond.

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